About department
Department of Psychology
The Department of Psychology, established as a separate educational and scientific unit in 2005, initially functioned as a university-wide department. In 2012, it became part of the Institute of Humanities. Since 2024, the department has been integrated into the Institute of International Relations and Public-Political Sciences.
Mission:
The mission of the Department of Psychology at RAU is to train highly qualified specialists in the field of psychology who possess professional knowledge, skills, and a high level of social-psychological competence. The department focuses on:
- Developing psychological education, enlightenment, and psychological culture.
- Organizing and conducting fundamental and applied research to study psychological mechanisms and the mental characteristics of individuals, identifying factors and determinants of professional and personal traits at various life stages, studying determinants of mental health, and health-preserving technologies.
- Advancing scientific and social partnerships with research organizations, enterprises, and educational institutions.
Educational Strategy:
The educational strategy for the "Psychology" program is centered on "learning by doing," which involves forming professional competencies through the learning process. This approach prepares professionals with a broad range of theoretical knowledge and practical skills in using modern techniques and technologies.
Educational Activity:
- Overall Annual Workload of the Department: Over 9,000 hours.
- Quality of Teaching Staff: The faculty includes 7 doctors of sciences and 13 candidates of sciences out of a total of 25 instructors (80% of the teaching staff hold scientific degrees).
- Undergraduate Curriculum: The curriculum includes 39 courses in general and specialized disciplines, such as "General Psychology," "Social Psychology," "Psychology of Creativity," "Clinical Psychology," "Personality Psychology," "Management Psychology," "Psychology of Extreme Situations," "Experimental Psychology," "Systemic Psychophysiology with Fundamentals of Biological Self-Regulation," and more.
Master's Curriculum: Courses include "Teaching Psychology in Higher Education," "Borderline Mental Disorders," "Psychology of Art," "Cognitive Psychology," "Programming in Psychology Research," "Psychiatric Practicum in Psychology," and others.
Research Activity:
The research activities of the Department of Psychology are focused on developing relevant theoretical, methodological, and practical problems in psychological science. Areas of study include existential-humanistic issues in education, identity, personal issues in various life spheres, personal determinants of professional characteristics, and psychological aspects of diagnosing and correcting personality in individual-psychological, family, and professional spheres.
Programs
Educational Programs:
Bachelor's Program:
"Psychology"
Master's Programs:
"Personality Psychology"
"Management Psychology"
"Family Psychology"
PhD Program:
- 00.00 Psychological Sciences
- 00.01 General Psychology, Theory and History of Psychology, Personality Psychology
Information
Asya Berberyan– Head of the Department of Psychology at the Russian-Armenian University, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor, and Head of the Psychology program. She is also the Head and an active member of the Armenian Regional Branch of the All-Russian Professional Psychotherapeutic League, and the Head and an active member of the Armenian Branch of the International Academy of Psychological Sciences.
Career at RAU:
Asya Berberyan has been with RAU since its founding. In 2005, she prepared the necessary materials for obtaining accreditation, which led to the establishment of the Bachelor’s program in Psychology (37.03.01). In 2009, she developed and launched several Master’s programs in Psychology: "Personality Psychology," "Management Psychology," "Family Psychology and Family Counseling," and "Military Psychology," followed by the PhD program 19.00.01 in "General Psychology, Personality Psychology, History of Psychology." All these programs are successfully functioning.
She was appointed Head of the Department of Ethno-Cultural and Ecological Tourism in 2002 and has been the Head of the Department of Psychology since 2005, when the psychology program was inaugurated.
Professional Affiliations:
- Member of the editorial boards of the journals "Vestnik RAU," "Armenian Journal of Mental Health" (RA), and the International Editorial Board of the scientific-methodological journal "Sociosphere" (Russia).
- Member of the Organizing Committee for International Conferences on Psychology and Pedagogy at the Center for the Development of Scientific Cooperation (Russia).
- Member of the editorial boards of "Russian Psychological Journal" and "Vector of Science" (TGU, Russia).
- Head and an active member of the Armenian Regional Branch of the All-Russian Professional Psychotherapeutic League.
- Head and an active member of the Armenian Branch of the International Academy of Psychological Sciences.
- Member of the International Council of Professional Therapists.
- Foreign expert for the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation.
- Head of the "Ethical Committee" of the Union of Psychologists of Armenia.
Achievements and Honors:
- Represented Armenian science at international symposia, conferences, and congresses.
- Organizer of annual international and national academic and student conferences.
- Authored over 300 scientific works (h-index – 11).
- Leader of grant projects focused on the humanization of higher education, ethno-cultural identity, and organizing international conferences.
Awards:
- Honorary Certificate from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation for her significant contributions to the development and improvement of the educational process (2016).
- Diploma of Honor for contributions to the professional community (2016).
- Named "Best Teacher of the Year" for implementing a student-centered approach in the educational process at RAU.
- Awarded by the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) for significant contributions to education and strengthening Russian-Armenian scientific relations.
- Title of "Honored Professor of the Russian-Armenian University" by RAU's Academic Council for her significant personal contribution to the development of the Psychology program (2018).
- Received the Order "For Services in Psychology" from MAPN, Gold Medal from the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport of RA (2021), Gold Medal from RAU (2021), and the title "Honored Worker of the Education Sphere of the Russian Federation" (2022), among other honors.